Time and Tide Waits No Longer: Tidal Energy in Scotland & Wales

Scotland’s first commercial-scale
tidal turbine has been connected to the electricity grid off the Orkney coast
and begun generating power. Atlantis Resources gigantic 1MW machine, which
resembles an underwater wind turbine, weighs 1,500 tonnes and stands 70 feet
off the seabed. It will generate enough electricity annually to power about
1,000 homes. And the UK’s Carbon Trust has offered a grant of up to £390k
through its Entrepreneurs Fast Track service to Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Ltd.

By Jenny Fyall  Environment Correspondent  Scotsman.com (11 August 2011):

SCOTLAND’S first commercial-scale
tidal turbine has been connected to the electricity grid off the Orkney coast
and begun generating power.

The gigantic machine which
resembles an underwater wind turbine weighs 1,500 tonnes and stands 70 feet off
the seabed.

Atlantis Resources Corporation
hopes the 1MW device, known as AR1000, will generate enough electricity
annually to power about 1,000 homes.

If the project proves successful,
within the next decade, the company is hoping to install hundreds of the
machines in the turbulent waters of the Pentland Firth off Scotland’s north
coast.

The machine was lowered into the
sea at the European Marine Energy Centre (Emec) off Orkney and will undergo a
further two years of tests. Atlantis chief executive Tim Cornelius said that he
was proud of the achievement of the team that successfully installed the
machine.

“By connecting a 1MW single
rotor device in Scottish waters to the national grid, they have achieved
something that has never been done before,” he said.

He added that he was “very
confident” the turbine would work effectively as it is monitored over the
next two years. We will measure success by showing that we can match
theoretical output with actual output,” he said.

The AR1000 device was built using
expertise from across the UK, with the parts being constructed in Poole,
Newcastle, Invergordon, Scunthorpe and Bedford. Professional divers were
provided by Leask Marine in Orkney and site surveyors came from Edinburgh.

Mr Cornelius told The Scotsman it
was an exciting time for the tidal turbine sector and added that they had been
shown “overwhelming support” locally for helping to kick-start new
employment and industry in the region.

Atlantis Resources is part of
MeyGen Ltd, which has a lease from the Crown Estate to develop part of the
seabed in the Pentland Firth, known as the Inner Sound tidal site. The joint
venture, one of the biggest of its kind, aims to build up to 400 of the
turbines in the Inner Sound tidal site in the Pentland Firth, behind the island
of Stroma and the mainland, starting in 2013. This would provide enough
electricity for about 400,000 homes.

Tidal turbines harness the energy
provided by the movement of the tides and supporters say they will provide a
predictable, reliable source of green electricity.

However, questions remain about
whether the technology will be effective, the impact of tidal renewable energy
on marine life and some concerns have been raised by shipping and fishing
groups. And the scheme to install 400 turbines will require planning permission
before it can go ahead.

Neil Kermode, managing director
of Emec, said: “It is wonderful to see this commercial-scale tidal turbine
connect to the grid from Orkney waters.

“The marine energy industry
in Scotland continues to gather pace and is working towards world-leading
targets in terms of deployment and generation of renewable energy.”

Dozens of wave and tidal
companies are developing machines to try to harness the power of the sea. They
include Pelamis, an Edinburgh-based firm that has created its “sea
snake” wave device that sits on the surface of the water, and Aquamarine
Power, also based in Scotland’s capital creators of the Oyster.

Source: www.news.scotsman.com and www.atlantisresourcescorporation.com

19 August 2011

The Carbon Trust

Environmental impact assessment
to benefit wider marine energy industry

The Carbon Trust has offered a
grant of up to £390k through its Entrepreneurs Fast Track service to
Cardiff-based Tidal Energy Ltd. The grant represents up to 60% of the funding
needed to monitor the environmental impacts associated with the deployment of
Wales’s first tidal stream renewable energy device at Ramsey Sound, off the
Pembrokeshire coast. The findings will then be publically disseminated for the
benefit of the wider marine energy industry.

The Carbon Trust Entrepreneurs
Fast Track has been supporting Tidal Energy Ltd, a tidal energy device
developer, with advice on commercialising its technology since February 2011.
Earlier this year, Tidal Energy obtained consent from the Welsh Government (WG)
and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to install its 1.2MW
DeltaStream device in Welsh waters.

Benj Sykes, Director of
Innovation at the Carbon Trust, said:

“The UK’s marine energy industry
is world-leading and generating energy from the tides could be a major driver
of green growth for us. This grant should provide essential insight into the
effects of tidal turbines in sensitive marine environments and, as the findings
will be made publicly available, benefit the entire industry.

“Through our Entrepreneurs Fast
Track programme we accelerate the UK’s best early stage clean technologies
towards commercialisation and the companies behind them from start-up to
attractive investment proposition.”

Chris Williams, development
director at Tidal Energy Limited, said:

“We were accepted onto the Carbon
Trust’s Entrepreneurs Fast Track programme earlier this year, in order to
obtain the commercial advice and support we needed to take our renewable tidal
technology to market. We have benefited from the Carbon Trust’s considerable
expertise and are now delighted to have been awarded up to 60% of the funding
we require to conduct environmental assessments for our Ramsey Sound project.

“Tidal Energy Ltd and its majority
shareholder Eco2 will make environmental monitoring data available to the
market and are pleased to work with the Carbon Trust for the benefit of the
whole industry.”

The grant, matched by a
contribution from Tidal Energy Ltd., will enable underwater monitoring
techniques and study of the interaction of the tidal energy device with the
surrounding marine environment.

Analysis released earlier this
year by the Carbon Trust shows the UK could capture just under a quarter of the
global marine energy market. Equivalent to up to £76bn to the UK economy by
2050, this growing sector could also generate over 68,000 UK jobs if the
technology is successfully developed and deployed internationally and the UK
builds on its existing lead.

The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit
company with the mission to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy,
providing specialist support to business and the public sector to help cut
carbon emissions, save energy and commercialise low carbon technologies. By
stimulating low carbon action we contribute to key UK goals of lower carbon
emissions, the development of low carbon businesses, increased energy security
and associated jobs.

Source: www.carbontrust.co.uk